madam chairman , it is regrettable indeed that we function under such a constrained rule , but the amendment which i have been permitted to offer here contains real benefits for electricity consumers and includes many of the reforms that i and other of my colleagues have proposed in committee markups , on the house floor , and in conference during consideration of various energy bills . 
first , the amendment would prevent future enron-like debacles by providing the federal energy regulatory commission with broad authority to deter and punish fraudulent behavior that distorts electricity and natural gas markets . 
enron 's ingenuity demonstrates how difficult it is for regulators to foresee , punish , prevent , and correct every type of misconduct . 
a recent ferc report concluded , `` currently , the commission has few remedies to address misconduct by market participants. '' second , my amendment addresses an important real electricity concern , the need to ensure that the ferc has the authority to issue orders requiring refunds for all electricity overcharges . 
regrettably , that is not now the case . 
the skill and arts of enron and enron-like rascals will enable them to escape much of the refunds which they should make after the most active kind of wrong doing , as we saw in the western part of the united states . 
third , the amendment does not repeal the public utility holding company act of 1935 without which enron would certainly have purchased more utilities than it did , sunk its tentacles even more deeply into the electric industry , and skinned more consumers and innocent buyers of electricity . 
the amendment requires the sec to review a company 's existing exemptions under the act to make sure they do not assert false claim , as the commission belatedly determined enron had done . 
with due respect to the gentleman from texas ( mr. barton ) xz4000180 , i believe my amendment provides a far better alternative for consumers than the wholly inadequate provisions of h.r. 6 . 
h.r. 6 includes only limited cosmetic changes to current federal electricity law . 
it outlaws `` roundtrip trading '' and filing of false information , but offers no protection against schemes liken enron 's death star , get shorty , or richochet . 
moreover , h.r. 6 does not authorize ferc to grant full refunds to consumers who were skinned by inflated electricity prices , but rather allows refunds only from the date when the complaint is filed . 
finally , h.r. 6 repeals puhca , leaving consumers and investors even more vulnerable to deception by enron-type players who concoct `` special purpose entities '' to move money around while hiding behind complex , opaque corporate structures . 
i would note a recent standard & amp ; poor report states : `` utility investment in non-core businesses has been responsible for most of the credit deterioration in the utility industry. '' i urge my colleagues to adopt the amendment . 
